THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012
VOL. 20 NO. 197
BERLIN, N.H.
752-5858
FREE
Grenier defends Rite Aid robber fined, county commission will serve no jail time BY BARBARA TETREAULT THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN – Coos County Commissioner Paul Grenier defended the commissioners’ proposed 2012 county budget and charged some members of the county delegation want to unfairly blame the commission for the projected increase in the budget. Grenier said the blame more fairly rests with the state legislature which he said has downshifted costs from the state to the
counties. “The state is balancing its budget on the backs of the ten counties’ taxpayers,” he said. The commission has put forward a final budget proposal of $31,683,135, up $784,820 or 2.5 percent over the 2011 budget. Grenier said if you subtract federal fund appropriations, mostly grants which are totally offset by revenue, the increase drops to $377,310 or 1.2 percent. The see GRENIER page 9
BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
LANCASTER — A man who stole prescription drugs from the Rite Aid in Berlin last July will serve no jail time. Shawn Labonville, 42, of Colebrook, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft and was sentenced in Coos Superior Court on Feb. 9, to 90 days in jail, all suspended for two years on the condition of good behavior. He entered his plea in front of Judge Peter Bornstein. Labonville struck a deal with the County Attorney’s office for the sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to a lesser charge. He was initially indicted on felony charges of theft by unauthorized taking, and acts prohibited. The acts prohibited charge was dropped as part of the plea. The charges stemmed from the July 5, daysee ROBBER page 5
Shawn Labonville
Munce sells 10 stores, still owes hefty tax debt BY MELISSA GRIMA THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
On Sunday, Feb. 12, ‘The Leaders Banquet’ sponsored by the Union Leader was held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. Retired Berlin school teacher and baseball coach, Dan Brigham, was give the Walter Smith Coaches award. Brigham coached baseball as an assistant under Rusty Ross and then as the head coach beginning in 1980 until 2011. Coach Brigham’s advice to all young athletes, “When facing adversity in athletics as well as your personal life, make adjustments, not excuses.” (COURTESY PHOTO)
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CONCORD — As part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, the sale of 10 Munce’s convenience stores and gas stations has been finalized. In Gorham, however, even with the back taxes paid on one property, Munce’s still owes the town close to a quarter million dollars for the remaining nine properties it holds along the Berlin-Gorham Road. Each of the stores was purchased earlier this month by individual NH Corporations bearing the name of the address of the store it bought. Articles of incorporation were filed on Jan. 24, with the NH Secretary of State’s Office for the 10 new corporations, including 443 Main St. Gorham, 100 Bridge St. Lancaster, 3 Brooklyn St. Groveton, and 79 Pleasant St. Berlin, in Coos County. All listed 15 Railroad Drive, Northborough, Mass., as their business address and Fawaz El Khoury as the contact person. El Khoury,
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who is also listed as the owner of CMRK Inc., a textile import/export company that shares the same business address in Northborough, according to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s website, could not be reached for comment. The properties were auctioned on Oct. 17, as part of the bankruptcy filing of Munce’s Superior Petroleum Products, Inc., Gorham Oil, Inc., Superior Trucking, Inc., Munce’s Real Estate Ventures, LLC, BMRA Real Estate Ventures, LLC, and Harold P. Munce and Marilyn J, Munce in NH Bankruptcy Court. The court documents listed the contract price owed by CMRK Inc at $3.86 million for the 10 properties in Gorham, Berlin, Groveton, Lancaster, Lincoln, Plymouth, New Hampton, Tamworth, and Warren. Quitclaim deeds were filed in Coos County on Feb. 2 and 9 for the four northernmost stores, which are currently closed, with $2.5 million of the price mortsee MUNCE page 8
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